No abstract

No region is immune to crises. Global crises often emerge as local issues that escalate over time with irreversible losses hence the importance of findings from this study to the future of the industry. Understanding crises and effective crises management is critical for the success of any industry and society. Adverse impacts of lingering crises threaten oil and gas operations around the world. The study focused on ongoing crises in the industry, the trend of escalation in a region, and implications on the future of oil and gas activities. Conditions were tested against coping capabilities of those going through crises using theories of Sweeny on crisis decision, Lazarus and Folkman on coping, and existing literature. Results reveal correlation between human coping and crises management approaches. This paper focused on private and corporate coping and outcomes. It confirms human coping processes to crises and how decisions and actions metamorphose over time. Findings reveal that the trend went from harassment of the public to corporations, to arms acquisition and proliferation, and eventually to militancy. The trend of escalation confirmed that as parties adjusted their coping to meet dynamic challenges, it elicited reactions with implications on individuals and corporate entities. Field study focused on experiences in an African region where lingering crises pose significant threats to oil and gas operations, and refereed literature considered worldwide operations.Impacts of crises linger, resulting in huge expenditure on security, which when defeated, leave lives and assets in jeopardy. Throughout the considered region, none is spared the wrath of restive youths. Findings have tangible implications for successful and sustainable operations in areas of stakeholders engagement, conflicts management, community relations, grievance and claims management, and interactions of corporate social responsibility with mitigation of risks; safety, security, and resources utilization.

Crises are situations that disrupt systems, processes, and lifestyles. They adversely impact individuals, assets, prospects, operations, and reputations of organizations and societies on short and long-terms with significant environmental, social, economic, political, and legal consequences hence the need for priority attention to crises management. This study focused on crises in the oil and gas industry with special emphasis on the lingering situation in the Nigerian-Niger Delta between the communities, the oil and gas companies, and the Government. They became international concerns due to kidnappings, fatalities, assets destruction, environmental degradation, and poverty in the oil-rich region. Despite the industry's substantial expenditure on security, kidnapping and vandalism persist as restive youths who feel marginalized, seek to hurt systems they believe, denied them quality life.Despite general knowledge and blames traded by parties involved, the study used qualitative-historicalnarrative-approach to interview representatives of communities, oil and gas companies, and Government to discover root causes of the crises. Coping theory by Lazarus and Folkman and crisis decision theory by Sweeny were utilized to understand the reasoning and responses of the people to the decisions and management strategies of the Government and oil and gas companies.Results revealed the root causes of the crises as specific policies and strategies of the Government and oil and gas companies, ethnic crises in the region, environmental pollution and degradation and failure to remediate polluted areas, lack of basic infrastructures, lack of human and infrastructural development, unemployment, and noninvolvement of the people in decisions affecting the region. Findings were used to